Chris'nePfund,PhD.

Director,CenterfortheImprovementofMentoredExperiencesinResearch(CIMER)Co-PI,Na>onalResearchMentoringNetwork(NRMN)

WisconsinCenterforEduca>onResearchIns>tuteforClinicalandTransla>onalResearch

UniversityofWisconsin-Madison

TheScienceofMentoring

Webinar Agenda

u  Your Mentoring Relationships

u  Overview of Mentoring

u  Impact of Mentoring on Persistence

u  National Efforts and Resource to Support Effective Mentoring

u  Effective Approaches to Mentoring

u  Case Study

u  Cultural Diversity and Mentoring Relationships

u  Next Steps

How many graduate students (and post-docs) are you mentoring at this time? 1.  None

2.  1

3.  2-3

4.  3-4

5.  More than 4

How many hours a week do you spend with your mentees (face-to-face, email, phone, Skype, etc) 1.  Less than 1 hour

2.  1-2 hours

3.  3-4 hours

4.  5-8 hours

5.  More than 8 hours

In the chat window, share 1 or 2 words that highlight a mentoring challenge you are having (or have had)

Overview of Mentoring

A Mentored Research Experience and Strong Mentorship has been linked to:

u  Enhanced science identity, sense of belonging and self-efficacy (Palepu et al, 1998; Garman et al, 2001; Paglis et al, 2006; Lopatto, 2007; Bland et al, 2009; Feldman et al, 2010; Cho et al, 2011; Chemers et al, 2011; Thiry and Laursen, 2011; Byars-Winston et al., 2015)

u  Persistence (Gloria et al, 2001; Solorzano 1993; McGee and Keller, 2007; Sambunjak et al, 2010; Williams et al, 2015; Bordes-Edgar et al., 2011; Campbell and Campbell, 1997

u  Research productivity (Steiner and Lanphear, 2002; 2007; Wingard et al, 2004)

•  Higher career satisfaction (Schapira et al, 1992; Beech et al, 2013)

•  Enhanced recruitment of URMs (Hathaway et al, 2002; Nagda et al, 1998).

At its best, mentoring can be a life-altering relationship that inspires mutual growth, learning, and development. Its effects can be remarkable, profound and enduring; mentoring relationships have the capacity to transform individuals groups, organizations and communities.

(Ragins and Kram, 2007)

Defining Mentoring Acollabora'velearningrela'onshipthatproceedsthroughpurposefulstagesover>meandhastheprimarygoalofhelpingmenteesacquiretheessen>alcompetenciesneededforsuccessintheirchosencareer.

Itincludesusingone’sownexperiencetoguideanotherthroughanexperiencethatrequirespersonalandintellectualgrowthanddevelopment.Appliestoresearchmentoring,careercoaching,peermentoring,virtualmentoring,andinsomecasesadvising

Pfund et al 2016: McGee 2016

Mentor Success: Gaining the skills and knowledge to:

1) effectively support mentee development

2) facilitate the attainment of the transferrable “competencies” necessary to meet individual mentees’ goals.

This requires the ability to come to a clear understanding of each mentee’s unique needs and desires and the flexibility and humility to adjust one’s approach to support a mentee’s success.

Mentee Success: Gaining:

1) personal and professional competencies necessary to define his/her career goals

2) experience needed for that career

3) the ability and opportunity to progress toward that chosen career goal

(Pfund et al., 2016)

SuccessinMentoring

Skill Building Across Attributes for Effective Research Mentoring Relationships

RESEARCH SKILLS •  Developing disciplinary research skills •  Teaching and Learning disciplinary

knowledge •  Developing technical skills •  Accurately assessing mentees’

understanding of disciplinary knowledge and skills

•  Valuing and practicing ethical behavior and responsible conduct of research

 

DIVERSITY/CULTURALLY-FOCUSED SKILLS •  Advancing equity and inclusion •  Being culturally responsive •  Reducing the impact of bias •  Reducing the impact of stereotype threat  

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS •  Listening actively •  Aligning mentor and mentee expectations •  Building trusting relationships/ honesty

   

SPONSORSHIP SKILLS •  Fostering mentees’ independence •  Promoting professional development •  Establishing and fostering mentee

professional networks •  Actively advocating on behalf of mentees  

PSYCHOSOCIAL SKILLS •  Providing motivation •  Developing mentee career self-efficacy •  Developing mentee research self-efficacy •  Developing science identity •  Developing a sense of belonging  

 

Pfund et al. 2016

ANa'onalFocusonMentoring▶  Na>onalScienceFounda>on(NSF)

▶  Post-doctoralmentoringplans

▶  UndergraduateresearchANDmentoringprograms

▶  AAAS/PASEMENSTEMMentoring2030Mee>ng

▶  Na>onalAcademiesofScience

▶  NewReportonMentoredUndergraduateResearchExperiences

▶  Par>cipatoryWorkshoponEffec>veMentoringinSTEMM

▶  HHMI

▶  MentorandmenteetrainingprogramfortheGilliamScholarPrograms

▶  Na>onalIns>tutesofHealth(NIH)

▶  MentoredKawards

▶  Individualdevelopmentplans(IDPs)

▶  Na>onalResearchMentoringNetwork(NRMN)

▶  APS

▶  Na>onalMentoringCommunity

Optimizing Mentoring Relationships

Buildingfromevidence-basedtrainingtoimprovementoringrela'onships

Sessions Topics

Week 1

  Introduction to Mentor Training

*10-week project design*  

Week 2

  Aligning Expectations

Week 3

  Promoting Professional Development

 

Week 4

  Maintaining Effective Communication

 

Week 5 Addressing Equity and Inclusion

  Week 6 Assessing Understanding

Week 7

  Fostering Independence

Week 8

  Cultivating Ethical Behavior

  Week 9

  Articulating Your Mentoring Philosophy

Mentor Intervention: Entering Mentoring

Case Study

A third year graduate student in my group is adept at performing experiments and analyzing data, but is a very slow writer. Last fall, I set multiple deadlines that this graduate student missed, while another student in my group wrote an entire thesis chapter, submitted a paper, and did experiments. Over winter break, the slow writer had a breakthrough and produced a fairly reasonable draft of a prelim proposal. However, because she produced it so close to the (planned) prelim date and did not have the presentation ready either, so I delayed the exam. To avoid delays in publications, I have taken the lead in writing manuscripts based on her work. However, to graduate with a PhD, I realize that she must write the dissertation, as well as the next manuscripts, herself. Setting deadlines for detailed outlines, manuscript/thesis sections, figures, etc. hasn’t worked. Communicating the importance of manuscripts to the scientific endeavor hasn’t worked. Encouragement hasn’t worked. Veiled threats don’t seem professional. Other than being patient, what should I do? Please share one idea in the chat window

Completeresearchmentortrainingcurricula

(www.cimerproject.org)

17

Faculty Mentor Satisfaction with Training (n=128 mentors in intervention group)

88%

12%

Was the 8-hour training a valuable use of your time?

Yes No

45% 45%

6% 4%

Would you recommend the sessions to a colleague?

Very Likely Likely Unlikely Very Unlikely

Pfund C, et al. 2013. A Research Mentor Training Curriculum for Clinical and Translational Researchers. Clinical Translational Science 2013; 6:26-33

Mentor Skills Gains (n=124)

Pfund C, et al. 2013. A Research Mentor Training Curriculum for Clinical and Translational Researchers. Clinical Translational Science 2013; 6:26-33

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Communicating Effectively

Establishing Expectations

Assessing Understanding

Addressing Diversity Fostering Independence

Professional Development

Before

After

Significant Change in Mentor Self-Reported Effectiveness

Pfund et al. Academic Medicine 2014

Mentor Behavioral Change N=141; 3 months post training

3% 8% 2%

87%

Intervention

No change

Awareness

Intent

Implemented

47%

10% 1%

42%

Control

Pfund et al. Academic Medicine 2014

Background Background Contextual Affordances

Person Inputs - Predispositions - Gender - Race/ethnicity - Disability/ Health status

Learning Experiences

Self-efficacy Expectations

Outcome Expectations

Interests Goals Actions

Contextual Influences Proximal to Choice Behavior

Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1994, 2000)

Can I do this?

What will happen?

Persistence

Interventions to Optimize Mentoring Relationships

Mentoring Effectiveness and Cultural Diversity

Rate your level of agreement with the following statement: Science is colorblind

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neither agree nor disagree

4. Disagree

5. Strongly disagree

Rate your level of agreement with the following statement: Science is a meritocracy

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neither agree nor disagree

4. Disagree

5. Strongly disagree

Rate your level of agreement with the following statement: Bias has impacted my mentoring relationship(s)

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neither agree nor disagree

4. Disagree

5. Strongly disagree

TheUnevenMentoringLandscape

• Whiteinves>gatorssignificantlymorelikelythanBlackandHispanicinves>gatorstowinR01awards;minorityinves>gatorsindicatethatinadequatementoringposedobstaclestoobtainingfunding(Gintheretal.,2011)•  Sciencefacultyratedmaleapplicantasmorecompetentthaniden>calfemaleapplicant;offeredmale~$4,000moreinsalary,morecareermentoringthantothefemale(Moss-Racussinetal.,2012)•  URMsandWhitewomen’smentorshiprequestsmoreignoredthanthosebyWhitemen(Milkmanetal.,2014)• Malebiologistslesslikelytohireandtrainwomenintheirlaboratories(Sheltzer&Smith,2014).•  URMstypicallyreceivelessmentoringthantheirnon-minoritypeers(Thomasetal.,2001;Helmetal.,2000;Morzinskietal.,2002).

Cultural Diversity Factors

•  Gender, race, and ethnicity relate to how mentees perceive their mentored research experience, what they value in a research mentor, and their self-perceptions (Byars-Winston et al., 2010; Blake-Beard et al., 2011; Carlone & Johnson, 2007; Hurtado et al., 2009; Ishiyama, 2007; Johnson et al., 2011; Laursen et al., 2010)

•  STEM disciplines often presented as neutral to cultural diversity factors

Mentor and Mentee Views on Cultural Diversity in Research Mentoring Relationships

* Results compare Yes responses with those responding No or not indicating an opinion.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Results

u  Cultural diversity often viewed as interference variable

u  For mentors who experienced culture and science as related, they focused on their mentees’ culture, not their own

u  Mentors and mentees disagree on whose role it should be and when to address diversity

u  Both mentors and mentees noted that addressing cultural diversity is complex, for which few feel equipped to handle

SupportedbytheNIHR01GM094573

Consequences of Ignoring the Cultural Context of Mentoring

Ignoringculturaldiversityinmentoringrela>onshipscanleadtomiscommunica>on,privilegingdominantculturalnorms,mismatchedexpecta>onsduetodifferingvalueorienta>ons,andconflictsinworkingstyles(Brownetal.,2009) And ultimately ignoring cultural diversity in mentoring relationship could lead to reduced:

u  Science identity, sense of belonging and self-efficacy u  Research productivity u  Career satisfaction u  Persistence

Would You Be Interested in Participating in a Session(s) to Optimize your Mentoring Relationships?

1.  Yes, I am interested and would make time

2.  Yes, I am interested but don’t see how I can find time to participate

3.  Yes, I am interested but would need to engage on my own time ( self-paced engagement)

4.  No, I am not interested

5.  I am on the fence

What Format Would Be of Greatest Interest to You?

1.  Interactive webinar, like this one

2.  Video-taped seminars that I can watch on my own time

3.  Face-to-face session(s), at our annual meeting(s)

4.  Face-to-face sessions, at my own institution

5.  Readings and other materials I can review on my own time

Many, many partners and collaborators

You!

Acknowledgements

“Managing Up”

Mentor Training to Optimize Your Mentoring Relationships

Pfund C, House S, Asquith P, Spencer, K, Silet K, Sorkness C. (2012) Mentor Training

for Clinical and Translational Researchers. W.H. Freeman. Pfund C, House S, Spencer K, Asquith P, Carney P, Masters K, McGee R, Shanedling

J, Vecchiarelli S, Fleming M. A Research Mentor Training Curriculum for Clinical and Translational Researchers. Clin Trans Sci 2013; 6:26-33

Fleming M, House S, Hanson VS, Yu L, Garbutt J, McGee R, Kroenke K, Adebin Z, Rubio D. The Mentoring Competency Assessment: Validation of a New Instrument to Evaluate Skills of Research Mentors. Acad Med, 2013;88(7):

1002-1008. Sorkness CA, Pfund C, Asquith P, Drezner M. Research Mentor Training: Initiatives of

the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Clin Transl Sci. 2013;6(4):256-258.

Pfund C, House SC, Asquith P, Fleming MF, Buhr KA, Burnham EL, Eichenberger Gilmore JM, Huskins WC, McGee R, Schurr K, Shapiro ED, Spencer KC, Sorkness CA. Training Mentors of Clinical and Translational Research Scholars: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Acad Med. 2014; 89:774-782.

Pfund, C., Spencer, K., Asquith, P., House, S., Miller, S., Sorkness, C. (2015). Building National Capacity for Research Mentor Training: An Evidence-Based Approach to

Training-the-Trainers. CBE Life Sciences Education 14 (2).